Goodyear Winter Tires

Initial Review, 40,000 Miles on Tires
January 26, 2013

These tires were installed on my car when I bought it at 27k miles in Feb 2011. I'm now at 67k miles, almost Feb 2013 so I average 20k miles per year.

To start off, when the tires were new I was pleased with them. Plenty of dry and wet traction and low noise. Car tracked good as alignment was performed when tires were installed. Over the course of 40k miles I would have expected the tires to be shot and pretty worn. Granted I have a lightweight vehicle but I've still got 6/32 tread on center. Edges however are more like 3/32. I know edge wear is due to the MINI's aggressive suspension, however the tire noise is now quite loud. Not as bad as goodyear eagles with similar mileage but loud none the less.

Last winter was quite mild and I never had the chance to test out the MINI in the snow. Finally got the chance to drive in a snowstorm last week and let me say- Mark these tires down as NOT all-seasons. More like 3-season tires. With 6/32 tread life over 80-90% of the tire I expected much more in snow. Braking in snow is awful- slight tap on the brakes caused me to fishtail across multiple lanes on the interstate in less than an inch of snow on the roads (traveling about 55mph and going straight initially). Starting from a stop is a joke, grandmas pass me in their Buicks. Cornering in snow is, lets say breath taking, and not in a good way. Again, this is all on less than an inch of snow. Nowhere close to "deep snow" and not slush or ice.

I am now investing in new tires. Again, these Hankooks are not "worn out", more like 50% tread left. These tires would be great for someone who lived in warm climates that may get cold but stay above freezing. However for a norther climate driver, I would pass on these.

Initial Review, 55,000 Miles on Tires
January 28, 2013

Lasted 55,000 miles. They made it through two years of winter in Chicago. They made it to Boston and back to Chicago, to Texas twice and back to Chicago, then Texas to D.C. and back. My only complaints are the road noise and harsh ride.

Initial Review, 30,000 Miles on Tires
January 17, 2013

I negotiated a new set of tires from the dealer that I bought my car from tires as part of the deal to buy the car I knew nothing about the tires but I figured that they were not going to be the greatest given what I had to go through to get him to buy them. When I asked the service advisor were they any good he assured me that they were even after I offered to pay the difference in price between those and a better set. I have had these for 2.5 Ohio winters (luckily last winters was very mild) and they are horrible in snow and ice my traction control light is always coming on when I accelerate from stop and the tires are always spinning and struggling to gain traction on pavement driving and stopping on light snow is very tricky and almost impossible in heavy snow in the summer on dry pavement they are great but anything else they are unacceptable from a safety standpoint. I bought a set of Goodyear Weatherhandlers for my previous 2002 Impala and they were great and I was looking to purchase another set before I did some research and found out about the Michelin Defenders and I am looking to purchase a set within the next few weeks (hopefully before the next snowfall) If you can help it spend more money if you live in a rainy or snowy area (unless you are a thrill seeker) you will be happy that you did.

Initial Review, 10,000 Miles on Tires
January 29, 2013

My only complaint with this tire so far is the winter/snow traction. There is none! I was on the Mass Pike at night near Worcester and got caught in a very bad snow squall. Snow accumulated super fast on the Pike and slowed down to about 25-30 mph. Thought it best to get off and stay overnight in a motel. Got off at the Auburn exit. With about 2 to 3 inches of snow on the ground I couldn't get much if any traction on the local streets. Got stuck trying to get up the driveway of a major chain motel. After several tries, I got into the parking lot.

Initial Review, 20,000 Miles on Tires
January 23, 2013

After only a couple of years of horrible experience with dealer recommended/installed Goodyear Integrity, I had to replace them yet again. This time I discovered TireRack and chose these tires. I was initially biased with the name, commercials and high ratings, and had high hopes and bought them over snow tires last winter. Well, it has been a very good ride on the highways and city roads. But, it was obnoxiously noisy for many months. After about a year now, it sounds eerily quiet and feels like a luxurious ride (due to (0F) cold air? worn out treads? didn’t check on that!). It is quite good on snowy roads as well. It slides but is very controllable. I am happy with them.

Initial Review, 40,000 Miles on Tires
January 22, 2013

After a few disappointing Goodyear purchases, I changed my brand to Yokohamas. It has proven to be a great choice. This set of tires went on a car with approximately 160,000mi on it. I wasn't sure which would last longer- the car or the tires. Now, almost 40,000mi later, it looks like the tires are going to win. With proper rotation, these tires work great on rainy roads and super hot summer highways. We haven't had as much snow as usual the last few winters but what we have had has not been any trouble for the AVIDs on a rear wheel drive coupe. I really notice a difference in the breaking distance, too. I feel confident in traffic and sudden stops. That was something I gave up on with my last set of Goodyears. When driving "spiritedly" the Yokos have kept to the road instead of any lose feeling I've gotten with a previous brand. The tread life has been incredible. I expect I'll get very close to 50,000mi out of them- a distance I haven't had from tires in at least my last two tire purchases over 6yrs. I would definitely recommend Yokohama AVID Envigors to any small car owner. I'm thinking of replacing my Benz with a newer Volvo S40 and will definitely put the Yokos on that car when its time.

Initial Review, 8,000 Miles on Tires
December 25, 2012

Bought these tires 3 winters ago for winter use (as part of a package with rims from Tirerack.com) for our 2010 Camaro LT2 RS as an alternate to the stock Pirelli summer tires. They handle well in the dry, good cornering, stopping and accel. They've worn very well considering they have seen mostly dry conditions (NY-Long Island area). In the limited snow use they do well and I think it would take going over a mound of snow that would be higher than the clearance hight to strand you. I noticed when I first bought them they were used as the winter tires on the Nassau County police cars. Bottom line, I would recommend them. NOTE: Make when you buy a winter tire/rim package that you state whether your Camaro is 6 or 8 cylinder because the Brembo calipers on the 8 cylinder may require a different wheel.

Initial Review, 8,000 Miles on Tires
January 09, 2013

Damm Global warming, haven't really had enough snow here in Buffalo, New York to REALLY test these tires over the last two years. Six inches of snow is not enough, especially when the snow melts almost as soon as it hits the ground.
The first two winters I owned the VW Jetta TDI I ran to Goodyear M+S all year. They were fair in the winter but Bridgestone snows did make a big difference in years 3 & 4 when we did have snow.

I'm happy to have the snows when we drive up to Canada or Elliotville for Skiing. I hate it when those dog sleds pass you on the 401 and Queen E.

Initial Review, 100 Miles on Tires
December 31, 2012

I’ve owned this car since new and this is the first set of all-season tires I’ve had on it. I bought them specifically because of multiple magazine reviews that touted their wet handling. The Direzza Sport Z1 Star Specs which the car wears in summer are fantastic in dry warm weather but don’t work well when temperatures drop below 40 degrees and they lose a lot of grip in the wet. The Goodyear’s will allow me to drive all winter in cold and wet conditions, although I don’t intend to intentionally drive it in snow.
The magazine reviews didn’t exaggerate. These tires are fantastic. They handle wet conditions better than anything I’ve driven except my Hoosier Radial Wet track tires. They give up a little grip and aren’t quit as responsive as the Dunlap’s in dry conditions, but are far superior in the rain and cold. I don’t have a lot of miles yet, but I have high hopes that they will maintain a high level of performance as they wear.

Initial Review, 3,000 Miles on Tires
January 15, 2013

This is a good all around tire that performs admirably in the snow, ice and cold wet roads without giving up anything significant in normal driving in terms of road noise, cornering stability, etc.

It does not have the all out traction on ice and snow as my previous Michelin Alpin's but it does very well and is much better in puddles and cornering hard on roads, wet or dry.

In deeper snow with a slippery base it's very good at stopping and starting but the Michelin Alpin's had much better corner grip when pushing hard (but only under these conditions).

Initial Review, 2,500 Miles on Tires
January 21, 2013

I bought these tires for my 05 Buick Rainier when I found out BFG no longer made the tires I wanted. I was a little hesitant because these things look meaty and was afraid how the car would look, well it looks a little more aggressive now. We replaced a set of Goodyear Fortera tires with these, the Goodyear tires are junk, ok wet traction and IMO horrible snow/winter traction. When we first bought the Buick it had the Goodyear tires on it and I was almost fearful to drive it in the snow even with AWD. When we got the BFG's I noticed an immediate difference when leaving the tire place on a rainy day, they just hooked up, mat the gas and go, no slippage. Samething on dry pavement. Now onto winter driving, before the Buick was as a straight line machine, meaning it was great in a straight line at constant or slowly changing speeding, anything else required a prayer and your first born to get out of without requiring a change of drawers. It was often more preferable to drive the old beat up pickup with no heat on snowy days then take the Buick. Now its a dream, like all winter driving it still requires care but its solid on the road, hooks up in slush, light snow and deep snow without issue, it sheds snow and slush nicely too. These tires give a great deal of confidence in the snow, ice and winter driving. Now onto mud and off road, I have had it out deer hunting a few times through mud, clay, sand and over logs and rocks; again a measure of common sense and its good to go, not issues. My only complaint is that they gouged my gas mileage a hair and they are noisy between 30 and 40 miles an hour; not so noisy that passengers notice but I do. They also stiffened up the ride a little, which depending on what you want may be a positive, I don't mind it and I still get comments to the tone of "...this thing rides nice..." Short and sweet, short of horrible tread life we will be buying these again.

Initial Review, 200 Miles on Tires
December 30, 2012

So far so good. Just had these installed on my GTO. 350 hp with rear wheel drive living in WI required some winter tires for this car, which I just purchased. Night and day difference between all-season BFG tires and these winter tires. Work great on light snow and ice so far. Traction control has kicked in on occasion on acceleration, but not on braking. The car is much more sure footed on the ice and snow so I recommend these tires.

Initial Review, 300 Miles on Tires
December 30, 2012

size=275 55 20 I've run Pirelli Scorpians, Bridgestone Blizzaks before and they are great winter tires. These Ultra Grip Ice tires are even better. They outperform the Scorps and Biizzaks at all levels on my 4Runner. The real test locally is Daley Canyon Rd. A grade that starts from 5,350' to 6,000' in about 1/2 mile. It's a hard incline in the snow and ice to ascend. These tire excel going up it whether there is snow, slush or ice.. Even more important IMO is the braking power. I'd say they offer about 20% more than the awesome Scorpians and Blizzaks. That's saying something. They corner extremely well on freshpak and moderately hardpack snow. Frankly, these tires make the 4Runner run on ice and snow like a winter beast. I can pull up to stop signs quickly, stop without sliding when other cars slip a few feet or more. If you want to regain some of the control you lose in the winter, these are the tires for you. BTW, these are the upgrade size for the 4Runner Limited. They look better, offer more road contact and only change your speedometer 1 MPH at 50 MPH because they are almost the exact same diameter.

Initial Review, 28,600 Miles on Tires
January 01, 2013

Our Traverse is AWD and these are the tires that it came equiped with from the factory. We use the our Traverse to haul hay and feed on a flat trailer for the farm, to use on the sandy beaches of the Outer-Banks on vacation and delivery of farm products to Local Roots (indoor farm co-op market). The tires at 28,000 miles appear that they will last at least until 60,000 miles and they offer incredible traction in the sand of the OBX beaches, to soft hay fields, to highway Winter driving to hockey rinks all over Cleveland, Ohio. From what I can tell from other Traverse owners that have taken a chance on Cooper and Continental tire replacements, the Goodyear is twice the tire and worth the extra money.

Initial Review, 4,000 Miles on Tires
January 15, 2013

Got these 265/70-17 tires and wheels to replace my chrome 20" wheels and tires for Minnesota winter use on my 2011 Avalanche.
So far the ice and snow traction has been very good, I don't often need to go into 4 wheel drive with these tires.
Maybe it is the truck, but I find these to be very good!

Initial Review, 6,000 Miles on Tires
January 10, 2013

excellent tire overall. superb noise control ( almost silent) and excellent grip for dry,wet,snow and ice. ( as good as it can be for an all season tire). One of the best all season tire so far. my tire rating is (93V)

I have however two issues with this tire:

a) Temperature rise seems to be high. most of my previous tires ( bridgestones,coopers, goodyear ) generally tend to be 2-2.5 psi after a drive. The michelins are atleast 3.5 psi and usually 4psi higher than normal. This is resulting in a bumpy ride. I have since reduced my default cold pressure from 32 psi to 31 psi at this time and this seems to help and nuetralize the gain. I will try 30.7 psi. Right now it is winter, but maybe in summer it might be worse. something to keep track of.

b) tires are little hard the first 5k miles and seem to soften up after that for a much more comfortable ride. I have lowered the comfort rating a little bit in this review, but otherwise an excellent all season tire. given that these are 60k mile tires, you need to be a tad patient on the comfort. 5-6k might be the break in period for these

Initial Review, 11,000 Miles on Tires
December 27, 2012

Excellent tire! Living in Michigan, I wanted a sport orientated tire that would still get me to work during the two or three snowstorms we have a year in Michigan. These fit the bill. They handle great for an all season, good wet and dry performance and really compliment the excellent handling characteristics of a 5-series BMW. With a semi-powerful RWD car that has the sport package (Lowered by an 1" and low profile tires) I was pretty concerned about winter performance and debated getting dedicated snow tires, but I'm glad I didn't. These are VERY adequate in snow. We just had a 6" dumping here and the car was fine. Don't get me wrong, I had to take it slow, drive carefully, and be gentle on the throttle and brakes, but for ultra high performance all seasons + RWD, these are a great tires. I even made it though some major drifts without an issue. If you do your part driving, these tires will do theirs. At the end of the day yes, all season tires are a compromise, but for someone like me who drives a sports sedan in an area that sees serious snow only a few times a year, and someone who doesn't want to deal with the hassle and extra expense of doing summer and winter tires and wheels... these tires are a perfect compromise.